Former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy is bringing his huge ‘Shattered Fortress’ show to Australia this November, for a run of gigs across Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne.

The 50-year-old drumming icon will be joined by an all-star prog lineup for the tour, including Eric Gillette, Richard Henshall and Charlie Griffiths on guitar, Connor Green on bass and Diego Tejeida on keyboards. Together, they’ll perform Portnoy’s 12 Step Suite in its entirety, as well as a bunch of Dream Theater classics.

“Finally! Woohoo! I’ve been waiting almost eight years to make my return down under,” Portnoy says.

“Honestly, I’m completely surprised to the response of these exclusive Shattered Fortress shows. So due to overwhelming demand, Australia and New Zealand you will get to witness this amazing evening of music!

“A tribute to my time with Dream Theater, performed with some of the best musicians in today’s prog scene. Finally playing my 12 Step Suite in its entirety as well as other classic Dream Theater songs.

“As I already stated many times: This is it! This will not be happening again!”

Portnoy wrote the 12 Step Suite to help document his battle with alcoholism. It’s a group of five songs recorded by Dream Theater between 2002 and 2009, with titles that reflect his personal struggles: ‘The Glass Prison’, ‘This Dying Soul’, ‘The Root Of All Evil’, ‘Repentance’ and ‘The Shattered Fortress’.

Portnoy left Dream Theater in September 2010, after 25 years with the band. He was eventually replaced by Mike Mangini.